MB dead need to buy one in next 24 hours

[boles]

I have a crap ton of work i need to get done and of course my P5N32-E SLI plus SHAT on itself today. I have an RMA in but it would be better use of my time/money to buy a new board instead of waiting on the RMA.

I want to reuse all of my existing parts so i need at least

1 Pci express 8x (RAID)
1 Pci express 16x ( nvidia but no sli in future so i am open to x series )
2 PCI
4 ddr2 (any boards support both 2 and 3?) i have 4x1gig tracer 800

I want something that is rock solid and i wont have to mess with to get working. I normally go asus but this board was a PIA since day one. I will do small amount of OC but nothing big. I had a DFI board and LOVED it but it took a lot of work to get right. I wouldnt mind doing work up front as long as i know i dont have to baby it every week like my last asus board.

Microcenter is local so i will buy from them tomorrow morning or tonight if someone gets back to me before they close.

(edit: i have not kept up with hardware lately so if i ask a stupid question please forgive me)

 

[Quiksilver]

Ick. Microcenter sure doesn't have many options to choose from...

I'd say a Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R given what they have to choose from...

Sames it's the cheapest one they got that meets your requirements but I have no idea it is a 100% work right of the the box...

Also no board supports both DDR2 & DDR3.

IMHO though, I'd rather just order a board from ZZF or NE; just to make it cheaper cause $160 for that board is just silly.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Also no board supports both DDR2 & DDR3.

That's not true at all. There are several P35, P45 and X38 motherboards that accept both kinds of memory.

However, I don't recommend them. First, there are generally only 2 DDR3 slots, which reduces utility in the future. Second, they're more expensive than their either-or counterparts. Third, changing to DDR3 is not going to improve performance significantly. (Considering that it may mean using less RAM, it could actually hurt performance.)

Sounds like you're looking at P45, X38/48, or an Nvidia board to get the PCI-e slots you need. I'd personally go with P45 if you know you won't be using two graphics cards, as it's the least expensive.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Also no board supports both DDR2 & DDR3.

That's not true at all. There are several P35, P45 and X38 motherboards that accept both kinds of memory.

However, I don't recommend them. First, there are generally only 2 DDR3 slots, which reduces utility in the future. Second, they're more expensive than their either-or counterparts. Third, changing to DDR3 is not going to improve performance significantly. (Considering that it may mean using less RAM, it could actually hurt performance.)

Sounds like you're looking at P35, X38/48, or an Nvidia board to get the PCI-e slots you need. I'd personally go with P45 if you know you won't be using two graphics cards, as it's the least expensive.

Doh. Thanks for the correction. Now that I think back I think there was a thread about those boards and one of the problems was that you couldn't use both DDR2 & DDR3 simultaneously; it was either 1 or the other.

 

[boles]

ok so do i go for:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/...28344&Tpk=GA-EP45-DS3R

or

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188024

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: boles


ok so do i go for:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/...28344&Tpk=GA-EP45-DS3R

or

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188024

If your willing to spend $250 on a mobo... add this then.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128349


Er wait, are you still looking for Microcenter purchases or newegg; if your looking at newegg know i'd go with that board I just linked.

If your at microcenter, i'd prolly go with the evga board.

 

[boles]

what will that board give me over the EVGA?

I just got the EVGA today but havent opened it.

 

[Quiksilver]

Nothing really. A few extra USB ports, PCI slot, more current chipset really. There's not much but if you already have the evga i'd keep that sames you can't get that gigabyte board from microcenter.

 

[boles]

yea well if there isnt much diff i will just keep it for now. Totally forgot i have my old x2 machine sitting here. I just got that hooked up. i might wait till my RMA comes back then return the EVGA board